Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of the Hattstatt-Schauenbourg, located in Soultzbach-les-Bains, is mentioned for the first time in 1289, although its construction could have begun in 1275, simultaneously with the fortified enclosure of the village commissioned by Conrad Wernher III of Hattstatt. The latter sought to isolate the rival castle of Wassenberg, owned by the Girsbergs. The initial works included walls and ditches, as reported by the Annales of the Dominicans of Colmar. As early as 1294 Conrad gave up half of the city to the Duke of Lorraine, then half of the castle in 1306 in the form of feudal oblation. In 1310, he sold his last parts of the village to the Duke and the Blâmont family, marking the beginning of a series of changes of owners in the 14th and 15th centuries.

In the 16th century, Jacques de Hattstatt, baili of the Duke of Lorraine, undertook important works (1505): addition of an oriel, a polygonal turret, and interior elements like a wall cabinet with arms of the Hattstatt-Rathsamhausen. After the end of the Hattstatts in 1585, a long trial led to the transmission of the fief to the Schauenburgs in 1605. The latter transformed the castle into a hotel for curists, taking advantage of the mineral source discovered in 1603. In the 17th century, an additional floor was added, then removed in the 18th century with a complete recovery of the holes, adapting the building to its thermal function.

In 1903 the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence of Ribeauvillé acquired the site to make it a retirement home, setting up chapel and garden. The buildings were partially rebuilt in the 20th century (1970s), before being sold in 2007. Today, the castle preserves 13th-century masonries (coupling angle chain), Renaissance elements (tourelle, oriel), and remains of the medieval enclosure integrated with the later elevations. It was listed as a historical monument in 2009, illustrating the architectural and functional evolution of an Alsatian seigneurial site.

The castle consists of several building bodies (A to G) organized around a closed courtyard, including defensive elements (tourelle with 5 sides, filled ditch) and built spaces (garden, 18th century refectory). The main body (A) features stoneware frames, taskron marks, and a molded interior decor. Building B, in return for square, houses a chapel and keeps a door in the middle of the street with bosses. Dependencies (C to G) date from the 18th to 20th centuries, reflecting successive site adaptations.

The history of the castle is marked by seigneurial rivalries (Hattstatt vs Girsberg, Blâmont), feudal alliances (ducs of Lorraine), and economic conversions (thermal hotel, retirement home). The engravings of M. Mérian (17th century) and the drawings of Abbé Bobérieth (1835) document his transformations. Its architecture thus combines medieval heritage, Alsatian Renaissance, and modernizations, bearing witness to 7 centuries of local history.

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